Automatic piano-player.



No 863,592. PATENTED AUG. 20, 1907. J. W. DAVIS.

AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER.

APPLICATION IIL ED SEPT. 25,1906.

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AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.25. 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. DAVIS, OF PULASKI, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TOTHE DAVIS PIANO PLAYER COMPANY, OF PULASKI, TENNESSEE, A CORPORATION OFTENNESSEE.

AUTOMATIC PIANO-PLAYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1907.

Application filed September 26,1906. Serial No. 336,161.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN W. DAvIs,'a citizen of the United States,residing at Pulaski, in the county of Giles and State of Tennessee, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Piano-Players, of which the following is a specification.

This invention contemplates certain improvements, hereinafterspecifically set forth, in that type of automatic piano players that areembodied in a separate attachment designed to be placed in front of thekeyboard of a piano or similar musical instrument, to automatically playthe same by means of hammersor fingers acting directly upon the keys.

For a full description of the invention, and the merits thereof and alsoto acquire a knowledge of the details of constructionof the means foreffecting the result, referenceis to be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view, with parts in side elevation; ofan automatic piano player embodying the improvements of my invention;Fig. 2 is a'fragmentary front view thereof, illustrating a portion ofthe wind chest and its related parts; Fig. 3 is an enlarged verticalsectional view through the wind chest and some of its pneumatics. Fig. 4is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of the expression boxof the automatic player and the means forvarying the'ex-v panse of airpassage provided by'said box, for effecting changesin the volume ofsound; and Fig. 5 is a detail top plan view illustrating a portion ofthe frame of the automatic player and the adjustable connection of theWind sheet therewith, which provides that the wind chest may be raisedand lowered, as will be hereinafter described. 1

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings, by the samereference characters.

In the accompanying drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates thesides of the frame or case of the automatic piano player, 2 the bedplate thereof, 3the bellows which may be actuated by pedals (not shown)in any of the customary ways, and 4 designates the wind chest with whichthe pneumatics 5 are connected, each of the pneumatics carrying adepresser rod 6 which is provided at its lower end with a felt coveredknob or finger 7 designed to press upon a key, to secure the usualeffects. I

Secured to the front of the wind chest 4 and preferablyat about themiddle thereof, is the expression box 8 which is in the form of avertically extending rectangular casingiprovided with branch passages 10for the respective superposed chambers of the wind chest. Thisexpression box is connected to the bellows 3 by 'the wind box 9, thespecific construction of which will be referred to later.- The pneumaticbellows 5 communicates with the different chambers of the wind chest 4through passageways 13 in which are valves 12 controlled by the primarydiaphragm pneumatics 11, the action being effected in the customarymanner, by maintaining through the instrumentality of the bellows 3, apartial vacuum within the chambers of the wind chest and by admittingatmospheric air underneath the diaphragm pneumatics 11 by means of tubesI 16, flexible tubes 17 of the air ducts, and the tracker board 18. Forthe purpose of viewing at all timesjthe interior of the wind chest orthe superposed chambers thereof, I provide the front of the wind chestat each chamber with an air tight cover 14 embodying a transparent panel15 of mica, gelatin or other suitable-material, and by this means, asthese panels are at the front of the wind chest, the operator maydetermine at a glance by actual test, which one or more of the valvesand pallets are out of order, should the occasion arise.

It is to be understood that the air is exhausted by the bellows 3 fromthe chambers of thewind chest, through the expression box 8, and inorder to vary the expression, the box 8 is provided, preferably at itslower end with a hinged flap 19, preferably formed of comparativelystiff fabric braced at its free edge 20. This flap is secured to onewall of the expression box 8 and extends from side to side of the box,and by varying the inclination of the flap with respect to the wall towhich it is secured, the flap may be caused to extend more or lessacross the passage way provided by the box and and thereby obstruct theflow of air through the box to a greater or less extent. To effect themovement of this .flap, it bears against a nut 21, preferably of'rawhide or leather, secured on one end of a rod 22, the rod beinglimited in its movement tostrike against a knob or similar pad 23surrounding an opening in the rear wall of the box, so that the strikingof the rod at the limit of its inward movement will not be accompaniedby any appreciable sound. The rod 22 passes through the diaphragm 24secured in an air tight manner to the frame 24 of the box 8, the rodbeing secured to the diaphragm by jam nuts as shown best in Fig. 4. -Abell crank 25 has one arm secured to the outer end of the rod 22 and theother arm of said bell crank is connected by means of a link 26 toanother bell crank 27, one arm of which is extended to form a handlewithin convenient reach of the operator, so that by pulling the handleout or pushing it in, the flap may be moved =to obstruct more or lessthe passage provided by the sound box 8.

As is well known, difficulty has been experienced with automatic playersof this character, owing to the 7 in the heights of'differentkey-boards, reference being particularly had to Fig. 5. By reference tothis view ofjth e drawings, it will be understood that each of thesidebars l of the frame or case of the automatic player is provided witha vertically grooved cleat 28 and that the wind chest 4 at its ends (seeFig. 1) is provided with a corresponding cleat or board 29 formed with avertical tongue 30 fittingwithin the groove of the cleat 28. -,Thi1s.theentire wind chest with its neumatics,

.its depressing rods 6 and fingers 7, and its sound box 8 may beraisedand lowered, and to thus adjust these parts, the wind chest/1 is'prnvided at its ends with blocks 31 against which screws 32 impinge, saidscrews being mounted to work through blocks 33 and 34 held stationary-within the case or frame of the automatic player. By adjusting thescrews 32 up or down, it is .manifest that the fingers 7 may be broughtto properly Contact with the keysof the piano or other instrument whichthe device is intended to play.

As the expression box 8 is rigidly secured to the wind chest, it will beraised and lowered with the latter, and therefore, I have provided anadjustable 3 which is stationary Referring particularly to Fig. 1, itwill be seen that connection between the expression box and the bellowsthis adjustable connection is constituted by a wind box constructed inthree sections 35, 36 and 37, the

upper section 35 being secured to the lower end of the expression box inany desired manner and passing through the bed plate2. The section 36extends horizontally and rearwardly from the section35 underneath thebed plate, and the section 37 extends downwardly from the intermediatesection 36 and is secured to the upper end of the immovable portion ofthe bellows 3. The intermediate section 36 of the wind box .is hinged atdiagonally opposite corners, as indicated at 38 and 39 to the sections35 and 37, respectively, the adjacent or meeting ends of the sectionsbeing connected by flexible tubes 41 of bellows formation and thesection 37 is, as indicated at 40, hinged to the bellows 3 in a similarmanner. Hence as the expression box is raised or lowered with the windchest, it is obvious that the sectional and hinged wind box willautomatically accommodate itself to the different elevations of theexpression box, without the necessity of adjusting any of the partsexcept by adjusting screws 32, as has been above described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is: p

1. An automatic piano player, comprising a case provided with pneumaticsand key depressing fingers carried thereby, a wind chest, means forraising and lowering said wind chest, a relatively fixed bellowsdesigned to exhaust the wind from the wind chest, and a connectionbetween the said bellows and the wind chest, said connectionoincluding awind box constructed in several sections hinged together and angularlydisposed with reference to each other. 7

2. In an automatic piano player, a case, a wind chest mounted to movevertically in said case, means for raising and lowering said wind chest,11 bellows mounted in the casein a relatively fixed manner, and aconnection be-' tween the bellows and the wind chestysaid connectionincluding a wind box constructed in several sections, namely, anintermediate" section, and. two end sections, the end sections beinghinged to the other two sections at diagonally opposite points, and theends of the said intermediate section and the other sections having aflexible connection of bellows-like formation.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence 0 two witnesses.

BEN CHILnERs.

